building

noun

build·​ing ˈbil-diŋ 

1

: a usually roofed and walled structure built for permanent use (as for a dwelling)

2

: the art or business of assembling materials into a structure

Synonyms

• edifice
• structure

Examples of building in a Sentence

My office is in that small brick building.

We bought the land for building.

Recent Examples on the Web

Smoke rises from the building of Iran's state-run television after an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 16, 2025. —Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025

Also in the hours before the ceasefire went into effect, the Israeli ambulance service said that Iran killed four people in a missile attack that hit a residential building in southern Israel. —Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 25 June 2025

Residents noted that one of the maintenance workers, named Carlos, went back several times trying to get animals out of the building with just a rag covering his mouth and nose. —Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 June 2025

Advertisement Dwight Bullard, a former State Senator and senior policy advisor at the nonprofit Florida Rising, says the organization is wholly against the building of the detention center, also citing humanitarian and environmental concerns. —Rebecca Schneid, Time, 25 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing building

• apartment building
• building block
• building society
• sick building syndrome
• world building

Rhymes for building

• gilding
• boatbuilding
• outbuilding
• rebuilding
• roadbuilding
• shipbuilding
• upbuilding
• bodybuilding

Kids Definition

building

noun

build·​ing ˈbil-diŋ 

1

: a permanent structure built as a dwelling, shelter, or place for human activity or for storage

an office building

2

: the art, work, or business of assembling materials into a structure